Oct 18 Skidmore graduate murders family before killing himself

CROSS RIVER — In the midst of a divorce Sam Friedlander, 50, a graduate of Skidmore, fatally beat his wife and shot his two children in Lambert Ridge, an affluent suburb of Cross River, New York, according to police.

A divorce proceeding had been scheduled for this Thursday, according to state police. Friedlander had reportedly been acting differently for weeks and remained living in the same house with his family as his behavior became more erratic.

On Tuesday the bodies of 8-year-old Gregory Friedlander and 10-year-old Molly Friedlander were found in their beds. The children were shot by their father and then placed under the covers. Friedlander's wife Amy had struggled before he bludgeoned her with a leg of furniture on the floor of the master bedroom. Friedlander killed himself with a 12-gauge shotgun in the basement of the house.

Heated diversity discussions that have embroiled Skidmore students and faculty for the last several years reemerged forcefully during the November Faculty meeting. Two of the initiatives that have emerged will be to build a social justice center and to start an Africana Studies Program.